


always something there to remind me

by cassitiel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Age Regression, Angst, De-Aged Sam Winchester, De-aging, Demons, Father!Bobby, Gen, Hurt Sam Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Sam Winchester, Kidnapping, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Bobby Singer, Protective Charlie Bradbury, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Jody Mills, Scared Dean Winchester, Scared Sam Winchester, Season 8, Sick Sam Winchester, Trials of Hell, can be read as sabriel i guess but sam’s a kid uhh, maybe tiny bits of sabriel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-27 08:41:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16699150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassitiel/pseuds/cassitiel
Summary: after a routine witch hunt, suddenly sam’s about 3 years old. only it’s still sam, just sometimes with lapses of control.can sam be changed back before it’s too late?





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a little clarification before this story starts:  
> this is set season 8, but by no means is it canon compliant!  
> sam is still SAM. but he frequently has lapses of control and ends up acting like the age he’s been turned into.

**Present** **Day**

It had been a simple hunt. _Obviously_ _that_ _meant_ _something_ _had_ _to_ _go_ _wrong_ , Dean thinks now. Actually, it _had_ been simple and routine, and the witch had put up a fight but was easily overpowered. _She_ _probably_ _put_ _up_ _too_ _little_ _of_ _a_ _fight_ _for_ _it_ _to_ _be normal_ , Dean grumbles now. In hindsight, it had so obviously been a trap. They had both come away with a  few bruises, and Sam definitely had a concussion — no matter how hard he tried to convince Dean otherwise — but that was pretty low grade for them. Everything had been fine, up until the next morning.

 

But even that morning had been a million times less stressful than the situation Dean is in now.

* * *

 

 

 **3** **Days** **Ago**

Dean woke up later than normal, if the bright sun piercing through the slit in the curtains was anything to go by. After blearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced over to Sam’s bed and was surprised to see the sasquatch of a kid still sleeping. Normally he was up running or drinking smoothies or some other health-nut crap by now. _He_ is _beat_ _up_ _from_ _the_ _hunt_ , Dean reminded himself.

 

Keeping the room dark so when Sam woke up his concussion-sensitive eyes wouldn’t go nuts, Dean made his way into the bathroom and ran a shower. He turned up the heat, and the pain from his bruises melted away. Kindly saving some hot water for Sam (if he was up for it) Dean made his way back into the room. He was greeted with a whimper from the bed in front of him and sighed. Ever since Sam had started the Trials, his nightmares had been worse— fever-driven and constricting. So Dean made his way over and placed his hand on Sam’s neck. And froze.

 

Sam was huge. 6’ 5” and layered with muscle. Sam threw elbows and thrashed during nightmares, yelling. He didn’t start to cry, or whimper. And he definitely didn’t _shrink_.As Dean ripped back the blanket, his jaw dropped. There, thrashing in Sam’s oversized t-shirt, with his sweatpants too big for his now-tiny body, was a kid, maybe 3 years old. Small, almost chubby, with big brown floppy curls. Freckles (Sam had had them until about 6) scattered across a face Dean knew well. It was _Sam_.

 

“Sam?” Dean whispered, shocked. Out of instinct, he gently shook the kid out of his nightmare. Sam woke with a start, and his big hazel eyes locked with Dean’s.

 

“S-Shit, sorry Dean. I didn’t mean to wake y-” Sam cut himself off.

 

That was _not_ Sam’s usual low and rumbling voice. Sam’s eyes widened to an almost comical size and he went to shakily push his hair out of his eyes when he fully froze. “D-Dean? Oh my god. Dean!” Sam started hyperventilating.

 

“Hey, uh, c-calm down Sam, it’s uh, it’s okay.” Dean didn’t even believe himself as he said it. _I_ _mean_ , _what_ _the_ _fuck_? _What_ _even_ _was_ _this_? As Dean was busy staring at Sam, Sam held his now-tiny, chubby hands in front of him. He stared at himself, then caught sight of the full-length mirror in the corner of the dingy motel room. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and went to stand, only to promptly fall flat on his face. Obviously Sam forgot his legs didn’t touch the ground. Biting back a laugh, Dean snapped out of his haze and instinct led his arms to pick up Sam, like he used to when Sam was actually this age.

 

“What the fuck, Dean? Put me down.” Sam, fully swathed in his regular-Sam-sized t-shirt that pooled around his feet, thrashed until Dean set him on the floor, still staring. Actually, Dean was starting to chuckle softly. Wobbling, Sam made his way over to the mirror, and again his eyes popped of his head. “Shit shit shit. This is NOT happening!” Sam squeaked as he covered his face with his hands. “Did I just fucking squeak?”

 

Suddenly Dean couldn’t hold it in anymore. Already over the initial shock of this situation and not yet into the anxiety of ‘ _how_ _the_ _fuck_ _are_ _we_ _gonna_ _fix_ _this_ ’, Dean burst out laughing. Sam turned and glared.

 

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Hearing what looked and sounded like a 3 year old cursing like a sailor - like _Sam_ \- pushed Dean further into hysterics.

 

“Sammy...” Dean wheezed. “I can’t, dude... sorry, kiddo, I just,” Dean made his way over to Sam and, before he could protest, whisked him up and turned Sam so he was facing Dean, settled on his arms. Sam continued to whine and glare. “Dude, are you whining?” Dean grinned. Sam pushed his curls out of his eyes and continued to stay silent. “Buddy,” He started.

 

“What, Dean. The witch fucking cursed me.” Sam grumbled. Suddenly something hit Dean and he started contemplating something and studying Sam. He didn’t have the look of someone who had been sick for a millennia anymore. Seeing Dean’s look, Sam somehow glared harder. “Oh my god what now, Dean-“

 

“Wait, are you, like, still sick? Like from the Trials?” Dean furrowed his brow and Sam paused, looking focused.

 

“Actually, n-no? I feel fine. Well, other than this new shit show. We... we need to call Bobby.” As he finished speaking, Sam nearly jumped out of Dean’s arms when Dean’s cell started blaring with a phone call. Dean set Sam onto the bed and leaned over to pick it up. “It’s Charlie,” Dean said over his shoulder to Sam as he answered. “Hey, Charlie, what’s up? You okay?”

 

“ _Yes, mom, I’m fine. But I am in Kansas for a Comic Con in a day or two and I wanted to swing by your Bat Cave!”_ Charlie said. Dean practically heard her grin through the phone.

 

“Actually, we’re in some dingy motel in North Dakota. We’re about to head to Bobby’s, as a matter of fact, because a certain brother of mine got cursed by a witch... and was turned into a 3 year old.” Dean snorted.

 

“ _Oh_. _My_. _God_. _Dude_ , _seriously_? _Baby_ _Sammy_? _I’d_ _miss_ _a_ _thousand_ _cons_ _for_ _this_ _shit_. _I’m_ _meeting_ _you_ _guys_ _at_ _Bobby’s_! _Oh_ _my_ _god_ , _little_ _kiddo_ _Sam_ , _probably_ _with_ _big_ _floppy_ _curls_ —“ Charlie cooed.

 

“Chill, kid.” Dean cut her off with a chuckle. “But we’ll meet you at Bobby’s I guess?” Dean was suddenly happy at the prospect of seeing her. (And also seeing Sam as embarrassed as he knew he was going to be, if Dean was being honest with himself.) “And yeah, Sam’s a riot. Adorable and chubby, with freckles and curls and the whole shebang.” Dean added, whispering. He heard Sam yell some profanity in the background and grinned.

 

“ _No_ _spoilers_! _I’ll_ _see_ _you_ _guys_ _in_ _like_ _8_ _hours_. _Peace_ _out_ _bitch_!” Charlie laughed and ended the call. Dean turned to see Sam swinging his legs on the bed and frowned, confused. Sam doesn’t...

 

“What’s happening?” Sam asked. His legs stopped swinging and he acted like nothing had happened.

 

“Charlie’s meeting us at Bobby’s,” Dean‘s smile grew as Sam groaned. “Don’t be embarrassed, dude! We’ll reverse the spell, but in the meantime...” Dean trailed off.

 

“Ugh, what?” Sam said, slightly scared.

 

“Chill, I just meant we need to get you clothes and... kid stuff.” Dean replied, skeptical of what they actually needed. “Let’s head to a store and I’ll call Bobby and then we’ll be on our way.” Dean mapped out the route to the Marshall’s he had seen on their way into town in his head.

 

“De, ‘m tired.” Sam plastered on some puppy-dog eyes. Dean looked at him, confused.

 

“Uhh, Sam? You ok? Why are you speaking like a little kid?”

 

“What are you talking about?” Sam’s voice shook.

 

“You just...” Dean started, not knowing what was happening. 

 

“Wait, how could I not know what I was saying? Dean? Dean, what is happening? What did I say-“ Sam rambled.

 

“Hey, hey, it’s fine. Sam. Let’s just go to the store. Bobby will help us.” Dean replied soothingly.

 

Sam suddenly looked exhausted. “...I’m tired, dude. Can we just go? Please?” 

 

“You can sleep on the way to Bobby’s, Sammy,” Dean frowned and packed their bags as Sam sat on the bed, feeling useless. He turned and did a quick check to make sure he didn’t forget anything, then scooped Sam to rest on his right hip before he could protest. Sam grumbled some obscenity under his breath as they made their way to the car, but he did start to raise his voice as Dean put him in the backseat.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Sam tried to push Dean out of his way and get to the passenger seat.

 

“Oh, so you want me to get pulled over for having a 3 year old in the front seat with no seatbelt or anything?” Dean shot back. Sam rolled his eyes and mumbled something about snippy overprotective mothers, but stayed put. Dean shut the door and went to the driver’s seat. “Okay, we’re going to Marshall’s and then I’ll call Bobby,” Dean stated. “You probably want to stay in the car for Marshall’s, right? Don’t want CPS on my ass after taking one look at you,” He snorted. “We’re already in a bit of a predicament.”

 

“I guess so,” Sam frowned. “I mean, honestly, what else could go wrong?”

 

_________________________________________

 

Dean sorted through the tiny clothes in the Marshall’s. He picked jeans and flannels, along with joggers and a hoodie. He added them to his cart, which also included adorably tiny sneakers, socks, and boxers. He grinned and added some footie pajamas, and walked slightly self-consciously up to the register.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you a single dad? You seem a little nervous, sweetie.” The older woman at the register curiously looked at the mound of baby supplies as she rung them up.

 

“Uhh, yeah,” Dean replied nervously.

 

“How old?” The woman, Donna — as Dean looked at her name tag — smiled softly.

 

“Huh?” Dean asked, distracted.

 

“How old is your son?”

 

“Oh, he’s um, 3. His name is Sam.” Dean softened as he thought of when Sam was actually 3.

 

“My son is also named Sam! Well, sir, there you are,” She gestured to the bags of clothes. Dean smiled and paid, grabbing the bags and leaving with a “thank you”. What he didn’t notice was her eyes flash to pure black as she watched him leave.

 

_________________________________________

 

He deposited the bags in the trunk of the Impala but took out one outfit for Sam to change into now. Dean slid into the driver’s seat, pulled out his cell phone and dialed Bobby. He turned around to Sam and looked him over, handing him some clothes.

 

“Oh, thanks,” Sam studied the clothes and reluctantly started to change. “Thanks for not getting me weird stuff for once.” He tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace. Dean genuinely smiled at the sight of his young younger brother, decked out in miniature hunter apparel. Sam actually blushed at Dean’s soft gaze, squirming.

 

“ _Hey_ , _Dean_ ,” Bobby’s voice came through the phone, gruff as usual. Dean winked at Sam and turned back, putting the phone on speaker. “ _You_ _idjits_ _in_ _trouble_?”

 

“Uhh,” Dean stuttered, not sure how to reply.

 

“That means yes, Bobby.” Sam piped up from the back.

 

“ _Who the hell was that?”_ Bobby asked loudly, mood immediately changed. “ _You_ _got_ _some_ _monster_ _baby_ _yappin_ ’ _in_ _the_ _trunk?”_

 

Dean scoffed. “No, actually that’s... Sam,” He finally blurted out. There was an uproar from the phone and Dean pulled the phone away from his ear, smirking at the predictable response.

 

“ _What_ _the_ _hell_ _do_ _you_ _mean_ _that’s_ _Sam_?!” Dean could hear the pure confusion in his voice.

 

“I mean that we ganked a witch the other day, crashed in a motel, and next thing I know Sam’s wearin’ diapers.” Sam openly and loudly protested at this, but Dean grinned widely. Even Bobby snorted.

 

“ _Well_ _I_ _guess_ _you_ _better_ _get_ _your_ _asses_ _down_ _here_ , _and_ _we’ll.._. _figure_ _Sam_ _out_.” Bobby was still chuckling.

 

“Yup. Charlie is meeting us there, by the way. Wants to see my new little boy,” Dean smirked. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Dean pulled into Singer Salvage. He smiled as he saw Charlie’s bright yellow junker parked neatly in the front yard.

 

The door creaked and slammed as Dean walked toward the front door. “Hey, Sam-“ Dean turned to look down, but Sam wasn’t there. Frowning, he went back to the car and opened the back door. There was Sam, fully asleep and drooling. Dean smiled, and leaned over to pick Sam up. With Sam securely tucked against him, Dean waltzed into Bobby’s house. He could hear Bobby and Charlie laughing in the kitchen and directed himself into it. “Hey, guys!” Dean grinned as they turned toward him and their jaws dropped.

 

“...is that really Sam? Oh my god!” Charlie gasped, running over to Dean. Quietly Dean shushed her, looking down at the tiny kid in his arms. Charlie’s eyes followed his and she inhaled. “Oops. He’s just so... small!” She grinned.

 

“She’s right about that, boy,” Bobby slowly stood up and walked over. “What the hell happened exactly?”

 

“Like I said, we were up in North Dakota, tracking some low-level witch. Or so we thought. Anyways, we ganked her, and then next morning Sam’s swimming in his shirt.” Dean sighed and ran his hand over Sam’s hair, and smiled softly when he leaned into the touch, whimpering softly.

 

“Well, why don’t we settle down and wait for the kid to wake up. Maybe we can get some info from him. In the meantime, I’ll pull out some books.”

 

* * *

 

About 2 hours later, Dean’s conked out on the couch, snoring, Sam still tightly tucked in his arms. Bobby and Charlie are sat at the table, books sprawled about, when they hear a whimper. They shared a look, and Charlie went into the living room to see Sam shaking, sweaty, in Dean’s lap. His eyes are still closed, letting Charlie know he’s having a nightmare. She frowned sadly, and walked over. On instinct, she put her hand on Sam’s sweaty curls and slowly unwrapped him from Dean’s arms and tried to soothe him. She turned back to Bobby and shrugged. _Nightmare_ , she mouthed. She flinched as Sam started to thrash and moan. As the volume increased along with Charlie’s stress and pity, Dean suddenly shot awake and locked his sights on Sam. Grumbling, he got up and took Sam from Charlie’s arms. Miraculously, after a few mumbled words, Sam instantly calmed.

 

“How long have I been out?” Dean asked.

 

“About 2 hours, why?” Charlie started to ask, when Sam moved again.

 

“D’n?” Sam slurred sleepily. Dean smiled down at him and pushed his bangs out of his face.

 

“Hey, kiddo,” Dean whispered. “How you feeling?”

 

“Mmm... not so good,” Sam mumbled. “Wait, where are we?”

 

“Bobby’s,” Charlie cut in. “Hey, jumbo, by the way.” She grinned when Sam’s eyes widened as he fully realized where he was; he was tucked in Dean’s arms, and everybody was staring at him. He had hoped all this had been a dream, but as he looked at his tiny hands again, his bottom lip trembled. Dean and Charlie frowned. Sam rarely cried, and when he did, some serious shit had happened.

 

“Uhh, Sam? What’s with the waterworks, dude?” Sam looked up at Dean with impossibly large, watery eyes. Dean shared a look with Bobby and Charlie, and looked back at Sam, who had promptly fallen back asleep.

 

“Okay, what the hell is going on?”


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is basically a filler chapter ngl,, but cute baby sam uwu
> 
> btw: if i haven’t mentioned it, THIS IS NOT CANON COMPLIANT lmao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter is gonna be a major cliffhanger owo, in the meantime enjoy this fluff/filler chapter

“It appears he has been cursed.”

 

“Wow, really, Cas? I had _no_ idea!” Dean said sarcastically. At this point he was impatient, and nervous about Sam. Cas ignored him and continued.

 

“The curse is from an ancient, powerful witch known as Ima. To reverse the spell, she must be killed by an equally or more powerful being, and then that being must recite a spell over whoever has been cursed.”

 

“Shit. Can you kill her?” Dean spared a glance at his sleeping brother.

 

“No, I am not powerful enough. But I know someone who is.”

 

——————————————————

 

Gabriel would not say he was particularly fond of Dean Winchester. He only tolerated the man because of his brother, who Gabriel found himself inexplicably drawn to.

 

So when aforementioned Winchester was in trouble, Gabriel dropped everything.

 

——————————————————

 

Both Dean and Sam woke up the next morning tired and grumpy. After a night of reading, Dean had finally found more information on what had happened to him, and — for once — anxiously awaited Gabriel’s arrival.

 

But today, Sam was acting different.

 

He refused his usual smoothie for breakfast and ended up thoroughly confusing Dean and Bobby when he slapped on some puppy dog eyes and begged for pancakes. But Dean obliged, and a few minutes later they sat at the table, Sam bouncing away in a very un-Sam-like manner while waiting for his food.

 

When Sam was fully settled and happily chewing his breakfast, Dean began to tell Sam what’s happening to him.

 

As Dean explained that Sam was going to keep feeling more and more like a three year old, Sam ironically got increasingly unhappy, and his eyes even welled up. Dean glanced at Bobby, and saw his own thoughts reflected in his face.

 

He knew that Sam had no control or reasoning over his emotions, and it was hard to watch the kid he had raised forced back into the feelings of childhood and uselessness he knew Sam hated. It was only made harder when adding the fact that Dean barely knew how to take care of a regular toddler, but when you throw a cursed man/toddler in the mix, it was too much.

 

Dean’s concern only grew when Sam let himself be picked up and tucked against Dean’s shoulder after hearing what Dean had found.

 

Dean let Sam sob into his shoulder.

 

——————————————————

 

Charlie bounced down the stairs — obviously refreshed — and caught sight of Sam, pulled against Dean’s shoulder while Dean murmured softly in his ear. The genuine moment pulled at Charlie’s heart, but Sam’s emotional instability deeply concerned her. She started to think what could help Sam when Dean inevitably had to leave _sometimes_. And suddenly an idea hit her. She whispered just that to Dean and picked up the phone, even as Dean tried to warn her of Gabriel’s soon appearance.

 

“Hi, Sheriff Mills? It’s Charlie Bradbury.” Charlie looked back at Dean, who was starting to catch on. Who better to help with Sam than a mother? “Well, we’ve got a little problem.”

 

——————————————————

 

Jody didn’t really know what she was walking into, to be honest. Dean’s friend, Charlie, had politely asked her to come to Bobby Singer’s house to, quote, “help with Sam”.

 

Now Jody was worried. When the sheriff had asked why, Charlie had simply replied that she needed to see for herself. As Dean opened the door and let Jody in, she just became more and more confused. Because past Dean and sitting at the table with Charlie, was a young child. He was adorable, soft-faced and freckled, and reminded Jody of the son she once had.

 

As she came closer, she saw he was struggling to hold up... a _gun_. As Dean caught sight of the scene, he snorted while simultaneously Jody balked.

 

Perhaps Charlie meant that _Dean_ was the one that needed help. _And_ _a_ _lot_ _of_ _it_ , Jody thought and grinned.

 

Her heart pulled as the kid looked up with huge, hazel eyes that were partially covered by his mop of curly brown hair. The child still hadn’t seen her, his complete focus on Dean. The utter concentration from the boy reminded Jody of the way she had seen Sam look at Dean.

 

Speaking of Sam, where even was he?

 

“I can still defend myself, Dean. The Taurus is just heavier than it used to be— oh, uh, hey Jody.”Even though she was thoroughly dumbfounded, she smiled at the kid out of instinct, and was rewarded with a scarily familiar dimpled grin.

 

Jody stopped dead, and looked at Dean, completely puzzled. There was no way...

 

Finally Dean met her eyes and replied. “Jody, that’s... Sam.” Jody’s jaw dropped.

 

“How in the— Sam?!” Jody quickly went over to see him. “Is this really what you looked like when you were— what three? No way you grew up so tall.” She grinned, relaxed, as she noticed Dean was calm. If Sam had been in serious danger, Dean would be all business.

 

“Didn’t know you were cute as a kid too, big guy.” The child— _Sam_ , Jody reminded herself, blushed. It was especially weird to see Sam’s expressions on a toddler’s face, and she had to physically stop herself from mussing up his hair. “But what happened?”

 

“I got cursed by some high level witch, and now because I’m... small, Dean thinks I need another mother. Sorry for making you come all the way out here.” He gave Dean a look as Jody fully noticed the difference between Sam’s regular, low voice and this... _child’s_ voice.

 

“Nonsense, Sam. It’s barely 10 minutes from the precinct to here. But did you say _another_ mother?” Dean scoffed, obviously anticipating Sam’s reply.

 

“Dean’s going soft on me. _Complete_ mother hen. Apparently Gabriel’s coming too? That’ll be... interesting. And don’t get me started on Charlie—“ Sam shoved his chair back from the table and jumped down, ready to continue the conversation.

 

Only, Sam obviously wasn’t used to his short legs yet. He jumped down... and promptly face-planted.

Dean was on him in a flash, and quickly whisked him up to rest on his hip before even Jody’s maternal instincts reacted.

 

She was surprised to see Sam’s eyes red and dripping with tears when Dean turned back to her. She was familiar with the constant tears and clumsiness associated with toddlers (and even quite a bit of clumsiness with Sam), but she had never seen Sam _cry_ , especially from such a small accident. As Dean actually _rocked_ Sam, Jody stared at them, fully perplexed.

 

“Ok, Winchester, you want to tell me why I’m really here?”

 

——————————————————

 

Jody knew that Dean was beyond grateful that she was the one to watch over Sam — with Charlie, too, but Jody was the mother — when Dean couldn’t be.

 

Her new assignment wasn’t hard, as Sam was almost always his regular adult self, and in turn pushed away any extra help whatsoever. But it always happened that the times Dean was away investigating leads would be the times Sam became more like she expected of a three year old. Especially a three year old Sam, already independent to a fault.

 

Like when Sam refused to let Jody or Charlie know he couldn’t reach something, and instead ended up falling straight off the kitchen counter, cracking his head on the tile and breaking his leg in the process.

 

Jody was busy cleaning upstairs with Charlie while Dean and Bobby were out, when she heard an earsplitting scream of her name. She and Charlie barely glanced at each other before they both bolted downstairs and into the kitchen to find Sam on the ground, bawling, leg sticking out at an odd angle.

 

“Jodyy!” He sobbed. Pausing only for a second, Jody rushed over and picked him up, which only caused him to cry out.

 

“His leg’s broken, plus he probably got a nasty concussion, Sheriff. We gotta take him to the hospital,” Charlie was clearly worried, even more so after noting the cut on Sam’s forehead where it came into contact with the tile. “I can get one of Dean’s fake insurance cards and meet you in the car? Maybe we can convince the doctor it’s Dean’s... nephew or something.” Jody nodded at her quick thinking, and took the sobbing child ( _man_ ) and jogged to her police cruiser. Charlie quickly joined her and took Sam into her lap in the passenger seat.

 

“Call Dean, Charlie,” Jody said. “He’s not too far away, maybe he can meet us there.” Charlie nodded and Jody peeled out of the lot and hightailed it toward Sioux Falls General.

 

——————————————————

 

Almost an hour later, Sam had finally calmed down (after Dean showed up), and his right leg was wrapped in a blue cast that Dean had already taken to covering in Sharpie.

 

As soon as he wasn’t in as much pain, Sam was immediately more adult and became embarrassed when he found himself sitting in Charlie’s lap with a tear stained face. He fully remembered what had happened, which only made it worse.

 

Especially when the female doctor commented on “what a strong big boy he was” as they started to leave. Dean had lost his shit at that, resulting in strange looks from everyone in the waiting room.

 

Much to everyone’s amusement, Dean had quickly scrawled “strong big boy” on Sam’s cast when he fell asleep, grinning in a way Jody rarely saw. (Maybe Dean really was Sam’s mother.)

 

As Dean carried a now-sleeping Sam into the car, he thanked Jody and Charlie profusely. “Normally, he’s really good with pain. Gabriel better get his feathery ass here before...” Dean paused when Sam twitched and groaned.

 

“Before we’ve got a completely vulnerable Sam on our hands.” Jody finished. Dean agreed, but his voice shook just enough to be noticeable. Clearly he had thought of Sam’s new vulnerability already, hence Charlie and Jody sticking around. Hopefully Dean was just being overprotective.

 

Or maybe he wasn’t being protective enough.

 

——————————————————

 

They met Bobby back at the house, and as Dean reluctantly transferred the napping Sam to a keen Charlie, Bobby informed them of a huge lead a couple hours away.

 

“Remember Rowena? Well, she said she’d be willing to meet us and give us some information and maybe... a reverse spell.” Dean lit up at the news. Even with Gabriel on his way, it was always good to have a backup plan.

 

“Really? Well let’s go!” Sparing a glance at Sam, he jumped up off his seat on the couch.

 

“I’m coming with you boys,” Jody stood, and crossed her arms when Dean scoffed. “No arguing, boy. I’m coming. Charlie can watch Sam; he can’t into much trouble now anyway.” Charlie grinned at the prospect. She never got to hang out with Sam, and she loved children.

 

After glancing at his sleeping brother, Dean reluctantly agreed. In another 10 minutes, Bobby, Dean, and Jody had packed up some duffels and driven off. Charlie was now busy making lunch, — she figured the kid in Sam wouldn’t want his usual salad — having dug out some mac and cheese from Bobby’s basement. She was almost done when she heard movement from the living room, and she looked up to see Sam struggling to get to the kitchen. He had barely gotten off the couch before he unwillingly called for help.

 

“Dean?” He could hear someone bustling around in the kitchen, and presumed it was Dean.

 

Charlie peeked into the living room. “Hey Sam! Dean and everybody else left on a lead. How’s the leg?”

 

“Not so bad, but my head’s pounding. Would you mind... helping... me?” Sam wiggled his leg and blushed, obviously uncomfortable.

 

“Sure, Sam. Don’t worry about it,” Charlie padded over and picked Sam up. “You’re still a moose, dude.” Sam giggled at that, a light and airy child’s laugh that Charlie hadn’t ever heard from Sam. She beamed, and brought Sam to the kitchen and placed him down in front of a bowl of mac and cheese. But before she watched Sam’s reaction, she was embarrassed that she had assumed what he had wanted. “Oh... uh, I just didn’t know if you still wanted your salad, or—“

 

“Charlie. It’s fine. Actually, it’s pretty perfect.” Sam looked as embarrassed as Charlie felt, his loss of emotional control having painted his face bright red. He broke eye contact and started to eat, and was immediately jovial, eyes lit up like a child’s. “I haven’t had mac and cheese in... forever! I mean, Dean probably had it last week, but you know how he is.” Sam smiled widely. “Did you say he left?” Charlie nodded, and Sam’s face fell a little.

 

“Yeah, Bobby mentioned Rowena and possibly a reverse spell, and they took off. Gabriel should be here soon though—“

 

“Hey, kids!”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! chapter 2 is coming asap :)


End file.
